With the outbreak of the COVID-19, our world once again has been caught up in the web of unknown realities of the planet earth. The world finds itself in a dilemma of fear and panic not knowing the extinction and the extent of economic impact of the Coronavirus.
This COVID-19 is not respectable of any country-developed or less developed; any calibre of person powerful or less powerful; whether weak or strong, rich or poor. It is a global catastrophe that calls for concerted efforts with hands on the deck leaving behind our continental, regional, tribal, religious and individual differences as we continue to forge ahead as one united people to find a lasting solution to this pandemic.
The extent of fear and panic alone as a result of the COVID-19 can cause premature death. This is the moment that we most need one another by checking on our neighbours, relatives and friends if not by physical presence at least by sending an encouraging text message or just placing a call can somehow save somebody’s life. However, a word of caution to all of us.
Despite the numerous social media applications at our disposal, let us be careful the kind of messages and videos we send to others. All humans do not have the same absorbers to withstand shocks to read or view certain scenes. A world currently on its knees, everything seems very soon to be at a standstill. As a result, every leader of a country or Island on the planet Earth is working assiduously to eradicate the virus and protect its citizens.
Our response since the Coronavirus erupted has not been adequate in our world as a global village considering how most countries find themselves wanting. The situation when it emerged in Wuhan 2019 at the initially stage, though I stand to be corrected, seemed like a China affair and this lackadaisical attitude is what most countries are now paying back with huge damage and unredeemable prices. Every country now seems to be putting in place radical measures though some of these measures have come too late, the rate at which the virus is spreading far exceeds even the speed of Usain Bolt.
It is for this reason that as a student in Rome but currently undertaking partial pastoral work in the Republic of Ireland to support my PhD research deem the radical measures put in place and subsequent renewals by the president Nana Addo-Dankwa Akufo-Addo as apt and appropriate. I believe if most countries had taken some of these radical measures from day-one, daily recording of new cases or deaths would been minimized if not totally eradicated.
The spread of the virus is very terrible because it starts like harmattan fire which not quench at the initial stage develops to an uncontrollable state.
In Ireland (a population of 4. Million), where I am confined in my room at the moment, just yesterday March 20, 2020, we recorded new cases of 126 bringing the total now to 683 within three weeks. In his address to the people of Ireland on March 17, 2020, the Prime Leo Varadkar said that “Ireland is estimated to have 15,000 or more confirmed cases of coronavirus by the end of March, a figure which is expected to rise in the weeks thereafter”. I would like to offer the following as my humble advice to fellow Ghanaians.
Firstly, Politicians across the political divide, Chiefs, Religious Leaders, Civil Society Organizations, the media and general public are called upon to ceasefire with our known attitude of politicizing every national issue just for cheap popularity or fruitless gains.
It is now time to burry our national, cultural, tribal, and religious differences by demonstrating our true patriotism as we mobilize every human effort and resource to protect many innocent vulnerable Ghanaians. People’s lives are at stake and if indeed you a true religious, traditional, and political leader or Ghanaian, then this is the time to declare and demonstrate your patriotism once again.
Secondly, I would like to reiterate that we treat the directives already given by the president with cautiousness. Nobody should dare make an attempt to flout the president’s directives. Satan always finds work for idle hands but I pray and plead that none becomes a culprit being clandestinely engaged in an illegal meeting or tying to be modern-day “Monks in Ghana” by creating monasteries, healing and praying camps to harbour and spread the virus. Those who even enter the country before the president’s directives should observe the 14-day quarantine period.
Thirdly, with the closed down of schools, and parents and guardians having now more mouths to feed at home, there is likelihood that there will be scarcity and price increment of basic goods and commodities.
National emergencies like the coronavirus will definitely effect fertile grounds for people to hoard basic goods and later sell them at exorbitant prices. When schools closed down in Ireland on March 11, 2020, many people rushed to the supermarkets to buy more grocery goods than one needed for the time being all because of the unknown extinction and the extent of the coronavirus.
My checks in other places outside Ireland indicate that people cannot even get toiletries and where they could find one in a shop, people had to queue for several hours. Others in Italy for instance, need a permit before one can go out to a grocery shop or a pharmaceutical shop to buy something.
I sincerely appeal to these controlling the market forces to be compassionate with those who do have the means to undergo bulk-buying against any scarcity. What do you gain if you use the global pandemic to exploit the poor and the vulnerable? Are you outside the bracket of those infected or can be infected? God is watching all of us and as the Ghanaian musician K. K. Kabobo once said “ONYAME Ehu Wo” (literary meaning God has seen you).
Fourthly, I also appeal to the media fraternity to be reminded once again of their core duties to the nation by always being guided by the code of ethics of their noble profession. You may be a ‘spin-doctor journalist’ of a particular political or an organization but always remember that Ghana first before your affiliated institution.
We must remember that all people do not have the emotional control to digest and understand some of the information we put out there. I encourage you to adhere to what the GJA President, Dr Affail Monney, recently reiterated said: “We dare not misbehave as journalists in the discharge of our duties or face the wrath of God. If we ‘talk by heart’ on television, radio or any media platform and abuse freedom of speech, God will not bless us with Grace”.
In that direction, I appeal to media fraternity members especially presenters, newscasters, freelance journalists, social commentators, political party communication directors, ‘citizen journalists’, etc. to be extremely cautious of what we alter or write be it in an audio, audio-visual or textual form. Remember that you are to inform, educate, and entertain the populace.
Fifthly, we must congratulate and encourage our patriotic men and women at the frontline especially our medical doctors, nurses and security personnel at the various entry points. They are doing fantastic job and this is the time we need to show them love and appreciation and not behave like the proverbial attitude of the tongue always behaving to have never eaten meat before.
Sixthly, as a nation we need to encourage many selfless Ghanaians philanthropists be it an individuals, Churches or organizations for their continuous support since the outbreak of the coronavirus in Ghana. As Oliver Twist once said we ask for more and call on others to emulate the pace setters so that we can overcome any human limitation. We can learn something from what Saint Teresa of Calcutta once said: “Not all of us can do great things. But we can do small things with great love”.
Seventhly, another important aspect at this crucial moment that we need to pay attention to is personal hygiene. We are not used to some of the precautionary measures suggested by our health experts but we need to embrace them. On that note bathing twice a day, washing of hands with soap especially after outings, changing your clothes after external activities, observing the 2-metre social distance, avoiding overcrowding will not be out of place.
I particularly appeal to our cherished food vendors since a majority of us depend on you for our livelihood, we need to improve upon our personal hygiene by appearing decent, creating a hygienic environment and ensuring that there is always water and soap for customers to wash their hands.
Finally, the world has been taken by surprise with the outbreak of the coronavirus. For now, one knows its extinction and the extent of the economic impacts on our families back home. Many families cannot sleep because they have their priests, seminarians, sisters, students, and family members as their backbones outside the shore of Ghana.
Notwithstanding the fear and panic as a result of the COVID-19, God does not abandon his children even in difficult moments like ours. We are motivated by the word of God each day. Even though we walk through the darkest valley of our world today, we fear no evil; for God is with us; his rod and staff they comfort us (Psalm 23:4).
Again, the Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge (Psalm 46:11). We shall lift up our eyes to the hills, and our help shall come from the Lord, who made heaven and earth (Psalm 121:1-2). We encourage all Ghanaians especially infected patients and others struck down as a result of fear and panic, “ for those who wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint (Isaiah 40:31).
Is not easy confiding myself in my room without any warrant of house arrest. All the same some of us have turned our sleeping rooms as grottos and prayer camps subjecting ourselves to the daily praying of the Rosary and novenas seeking out the face of God for ourselves, the world and our beloved country Ghana. Irrespective of our differences in faith as Muslims, Christians, Catholics, etc., let us come together as God’s children with one universal cry piecing the clouds to seek God’s intervention.
I encourage all Ghanaians both home and abroad to be like the Prophet Isaiah or one of the prophets of old always encouraging, motivating, and helping those struck down by the coronavirus as a result of fear and panic. With multitude of Angels, Saints and the Blessed Virgin Mary on guard, let us in communion pray and solidarize with one another. At the end Ghana shall be the winner.
Source: Fr. Michael Yaw Darko, PhD Student, Pontifical Saint Thomas Aquinas University, Rome
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